


The Language of Flowers

by orphan_account



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-11 23:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7074355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amelia, who has her fair share of admirers, finds herself with a secret admirer who sends flowers to her lecture hall every morning.  Romano, who is tasked with the unfortunate job of delivering those flowers from his part-time job (if you can all it that) everyday, happens upon the secret behind those daily bouquets and is forced into taking part in a secret he never wanted any part of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Language of Flowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brennerdee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brennerdee/gifts).



Oh my god!!”  Amelia said as she entered the lecture hall for class.  Her recently manicured hands covered her smiling face. 

Once again, on the desk she always sat in, there was a large bouquet of red roses with a card that had her name written on it.  

There were murmurs across the room, as everyone in the class had been debating the identity of the secret admirers for weeks.  The bouquets had started a week into the semester, and had continued once a week for a grand total of four weeks so far.  

Unfortunately, coming to class early to lie in wait for the deliverer proved fruitless when a couple of the more diligent students found that the admirer hired the delivery boy at the local florist’s to deliver the bouquets.

When said delivery boy, Romano Vargas, was interrogated on the matter, he gave no helpful answers.  Instead, he complained about the various inconveniences surrounding his job, including the specific one the classmates were interested in but not limited to it, until they grew tired of the never-ending list of grievances and left him alone.

What no one knew was that Romano did know who was sending those bouquets for a week now.  But had, for various reasons, decided not to elaborate.

 

<Time: Second Week of the Semester>

 

“I think you’ll like this order, Romano.”  Romano’s boss, Antonio said from in between two buckets of sunflowers that had been recently hung up.  Antonio was a man who’s positivity shown through just as brightly as the sunflowers that currently framed is face.

Romano did not like sunflowers.  He didn’t like work either.

“Unless you’re offering to pay me without my ever working or setting foot in this place ever again, I’m going to have to say bullshit.”  Romano said, trying to keep his tone even.

It was hard.  Romano was awake at eight in the morning finishing up the arrangements that Antonio had mostly done himself starting at six.  The fact that Veneziano, his brother, had neglected to bring Romano’s laundry in when it had began to rain, and left Romano with very few clothing options that were acceptable did not help.

“Aw, I’m serious this time.”  Antonio said as he moved around closer to face Romano, who refused to look up at him and instead focused on holding the one orchid he had been holding for the past ten minutes in order to look occupied.

“The delivery destination is that class you’re taking!  The one that François is teaching!”

“How the hell do you know I’m taking that class?”

“François told me when he came by yesterday for his usual.”  Antonio explained, referring to the ____ François picked up every week on Sunday morning.  “It won’t be out of your way at all this time!”

Romano had been planning to skip the class since it was just a general education class that he merely needed to pass and get out of the way.  If he took this job, he’d have to attend.

“Fucking—”  He said to himself, as he got up.  He made no effort to mask his displeasure.  Antonio, who was used to the attitude, paid him no mind, and pulled out the bouquet he had prepared last night from the back of the room.  

“Here you go.”  Antonio said in a sing-song voice as he held the bouquet in front of Romano’s face.  “You get to start the morning taking a bouquet to a girl who will be _very surprised and very happy_!  The best way to start a morning!”  He finished his line with a wink.

Romano stared back at him for a few seconds and after distilling his feelings to two words, he let them out.

“Fuck off.”

 

—

 

“Why the fuck do I have to do this so early in the morning.”  Romano thought to himself as he rode his vespa towards campus with the large bouquet sitting in the basket behind his seat.

Stopped at a red light, he looked back at the bouquet.

“It’s really fucking gaudy.  I wonder what kind of annoying prick ordered it.”  He thought to himself.  The bouquet was the largest option Antonio offered and was nothing but red roses.

“The flower choice is also really fucking basic.”

 

—

 

Romano was the first to enter the classroom.  It was a morning class and the instructions had insisted on leaving the bouquet on a particular desk before the individual got there.  Following the instructions to a tee, Romano placed the bouquet on the correct desk.

With the job done, Romano went over across the room to his regular desk and sat down.  His seat was in the back corner, behind Ivan, who Romano assumed was the tallest person on campus.  It initially pissed him off, but after some consideration, he realized that it blocked François’s view of him and actually was a blessing in disguise.  Since then, he had defended his seat with all the power that his bad mood afforded him and had been successful.

“Who sits there anyway?”  Romano thought to himself as he tried to dig through the vague recollections he had of the first week in this class.  Since Romano spent most of the class half asleep or on his phone, he did not have much to go on.  He finally recalled a loud girl with short blonde hair who always came into class wearing the most offensive outfits he had ever seen in his life and laughing loudly with her friends as she entered the class.  

“It’s her.” He confirmed to himself.

“Anyways, I left early because the party was totally lame and someone nearly threw up on my new shoes.”  Amelia was talking to her friends about a party she had been at last night.  She gestured at her designer shoes she had just gotten herself during a post-breakup shopping binge.

Amelia had never had much luck with guys.  It wasn’t that she had any difficulty getting dates.  If anything, that part was too easy.  And yet, for reasons that eluded Amelia, the guys she became involved with were consistently a complete failure in the romance department.  Within a week, their idea of a “date” would have devolved into watching football while eating pizza and drinking beers.  Amelia desired the kind of romances that she had obsessively watched on TV.

Romano knew none of that.  He had never talked to her, and quite frankly, had already decided he didn’t like her.  Everything about her was too loud for him.

“Oh my god, Amelia look!”  One of her friends brought Amelia’s attention to the flowers sitting on her usual desk.

“What?”  Amelia said in a way that sounded theatrical to Romano.  But then again, so did everything else.  She gasped and quickened her pace towards her desk. 

“Is it for you?”  Her friends asked, following close behind.  

“There’s a card.”  Amelia said and pulled a card out from deep in the roses.  Her friends were all gathered close around her trying to get a look right along with her.

“There was a card?”  Romano thought to himself.  “How did she even find it so easily, it must’ve been really stuck in there for me not to notice.”  

“Amelia, Your radiant smile makes this troubled world brighter for all those fortunate to be around you.  An Admirer.”  Amelia and her friends read aloud in chorus.

Romano turned away from the group making a gagging face.  

“What kind of bad poetry is that.”  He thought to himself, stuck somewhere between gagging and laughing.

The girls, unaware of the florist’s delivery boy they were entertaining, shrieked and twittered about in excitement.  They congratulated Amelia, telling her that they were glad she had finally been found by a romantic worthy of her.

François entered the classroom in the midst of all that chaos.

“Oh la la, what’s that Mademoiselle Amelie?”  

Romano rolled his eye.  François, extremely proud of his French heritage, insisted on dropping random French phrases in the middle of his sentences and using French names for some students.

“Oh it’s nothing, Professor François.  Someone left it for me as a surprise I guess.”  Amelia said, purposefully trying to downplay the event to her professor.

“Nothing?”  François smiled and winked at her.  “Ma chérie, those are red roses.  I do not think that is nothing.”  He said while Amelia giggled.

Romano watched from the back with vague irritation, wondering how François had been able to teach this long without having a sexual harassment case levied against him.

After a few minutes of François’s speeches on the importance and beauty of romance had finally passed, he began class.

Romano, before drifting off to sleep, watched Amelia, who never took her eyes off the roses, running her forefinger over the words on the card delicately as if to commit them to memory before they disappeared forever.

 

<Time: Third Week of the Semester>

 

It was rare for Romano to work a Sunday night, but because Antonio had a family emergency, he was forced to sacrifice the last hours of his weekend working.

After finishing the preparations for Monday, there was nothing to do but sit around in case a customer came in.  Romano had brought a couple of magazines with him and he had them spread out before him on the counter.

He was staring at them and trying not to fall asleep when the phone rang.

“Fuckin—” Romano muttered to himself as he took the phone that had jolted him awake.

“Hello, this is Floristería Carmen.  How can I help you?”  Romano said while stifling a yawn.

“Um… Hello.  I’d like to put in another order.”  A female voice, hesitantly spoke through the phone.

“Okay… what would you like and when would you like it delivered?”  Romano shoved the magazines to the end of the counter and pulled out the notebook Antonio used to keep track of all his orders.

“I’d like it delivered tomorrow morning.  To um, a classroom in the University.”

“Wha—” Romano stopped mid-sentence.  Too much was going through his head to process and he stopped moving.

“Sir?”  The voice in the phone broke Romano’s train of thought.

“Oh… yes.  Could you give me the specifics of this order?”

“It’s a repeat order.  The same as the order I gave last week?  Do you know which one I’m talking about?”  The voice on the other end sounded slightly embarrassed and stressed out.

Romano, while speculating at a mile-a-minute about the reasoning behind all this closed his eyes and said:

“Could it possibly be the class that begins at eight in the morning?”

 

 

“This young lover’s a motivated one!”  Antonio said laughing while he stuck the card into another bouquet, again, of nothing but red roses.

Romano rolled his eyes while crouching behind Antonio so that he couldn’t see.  He thought about the phone call last night.  Could there be a girl who was interested in Amelia?  It was possible, but something about the familiarity of the voice was bugging him.

“Say hello to François for me?”  Antonio smiled as he handed Romano the bouquet.  “Every time he comes now he asks about the flowers.”

“You know I refuse to talk to him in any campus-related setting.”  Romano responded while taking the bouquet and setting it up in the basket attached to the side.

“François never forgets to mention how much that saddens him, you know?”    

Romano narrowed his eyes.  He never liked when Antonio tried to play a parental role around him.

“I just have to deliver these fucking flowers, right?”  Romano got on his vespa, “My job description doesn’t include entertaining Professors indulging in sexual harassment every chance they get.”  

“Hey Roma—” Antonio started angrily, but Romano had already drove off. 

This wasn’t the first time they’d had this argument. François had a list miles long of rumors regarding his interactions with students. One girl, who had left the school had been extremely close to him and added to his already incriminating reputation.  

François took it all in a stride, and his good friend Antonio had always come to his defense.  Romano wasn’t sure why, aside from their friendship, as Antonio had never actually attempted to dispel any of the rumors.  He would merely scold Romano for talking badly of a person he knew nothing about.

“Well anyway, here you go.”  Antonio said, giving up on Romano once more.  

Romano took the package, put on his helmet and rode off in the direction of the university.

He parked his vespa in the campus parking lot and began walking down the now unfortunately familiar path to his morning class.

At this point, curiosity had heightened enough that Amelia’s friends had come early in the morning just to try to catch who was delivering the flowers.

They had not considered a delivery service and, upon seeing Romano with the bouquet, had all attacked Romano in unison regarding his intentions.  

Fending them off was taking so much effort that it put Romano in an even worse mood than he already was.

“You _have_ to know who’s delivering it.”  One of the girls insisted for the twentieth time.  They were standing around his deck, in the back corner close to the exit.  Romano vaguely went over escape plans to implement if this became too much in his head.

“Uh, no I don’t.  I’m just in charge of the delivery.  I don’t take the calls.  As I’ve explained for the twentieth fucking time.”  Romano responded while wishing he was back home sleeping.  Romano had no intention of letting these gadflies know what had happened last night.  He was pretty sure that he wouldn’t breathe a word of it until he figured out the truth for himself. 

He stared at the notes that he had stolen from his brother’s boyfriend, who had taken this class last quarter and always took careful and thorough notes so Romano didn’t have to, and prayed they’d leave him alone.

“Oh gosh.”

Romano had become far too familiar with that voice by now.

His eyes, still facing the notes on his desk, widened.

Amelia entered the classroom and gave Romano a brief respite from the interrogation but not from his thoughts.

“Amelia!  We figured out a clue about your secret admirer!  The delivery boy is in our class.  You can have him help you figure out who he is.”  The girls said, gathering around her excited to have made some progress in the mystery of the weekly bouquet.

Amelia, whose smile seemed to recede slightly as she listened to her friends, looked over at Romano.  Romano, who was never one to back down from anything, returned her gaze.

This was the first time he had actually faced her, and he was surprised to find she was pretty, even under all that flashy makeup. 

Amelia stared at him as if to deliberate how to take care of a witness to a crime, but Romano was too busy deciding what makeup and hair styling would accentuate her features to notice.  Her friends pulled her by her arms towards him so that she was standing right in front of him.  

Silence fell upon the both of them.  Romano had nothing to say to her and Amelia seemed deep in thought about how to go from here.

Amelia broke first.

“So you work at Floristería Carmen?”  Amelia asked, naming the flower shop that Antonio had named after his dear sister.

Romano nodded.  He was debating whether he should say anything.  

“Can I… meet you after class?”  Amelia asked.  Her forwardness caught Romano off-guard.

“…I guess.”  Romano fumbled with his words as he tried to think of an excuse to get out of it.  The reality was that Romano had no plans except to go back to his apartment and sleep through the rest of his classes.  

He saw Amelia’s eyes widen and her face pale.  He cursed himself for so easily opening his mouth at a time like this.  

The girls, oblivious to the thoughts running through both their heads, seemed satisfied and linked arms with Amelia, temporarily freeing them.

Throughout the rest of the class, Romano and Amelia engaged in a game of staring and catching each other staring until the bell rang.

Romano, out of a force of habit, slipped out of the class as soon as the bell rang.

“Ah…!!”  Amelia exclaimed and ran out after him, thinking he had tried to make a run for it, forcing her way between the classmates.  Her friends giggled, thinking their initial theory of Romano being the secret admirer was correct after all.

Outside of the classroom, she looked frantically to her left and right and found Romano leaning against the wall next to the classroom door.

“Y-You didn’t run for it.”  Amelia managed while trying to catch her breath.  She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself a bit before facing him again.

Romano watched her do this, unsure what to do. 

“What do you want to talk about?”  Romano decided to cut to the chase.  He may not be busy, but he had not interest in dancing around meaningless topics until she felt comfortable enough to discuss the topic at hand.

“I don’t want to talk here.”  Amelia said and took his wrist.  “Come with me.”  She ordered before Romano could protest.

**Author's Note:**

> An old (REALLY OLD) WIP that I wrote enough of that I figured I might as well post it. Might come back and pick it up.
> 
> Gifted to Bre, who came up with the AU and helped with a number of plot points.


End file.
